Let’s talk about BREAD, shall we? I’ve discussed the benefits of whole wheat, I’ve shown you how I make lots of loaves of bread at one time, now let’s talk about the current reality that is my life: I don’t have time for bread-making. I have all the tools to do it in big batches, what I don’t have is all the time. It really would only take me about four or five hours. But in Kid Time, that translates to 8 hours. You can imagine why.
And the problem is, bread-making isn’t really flexible. You can only let it rise so much, add so much flour, walk away from it for so long, before you have Mt. Saint Dough-saster on your hands and you’ve got to start all over.
This means that I’ve been secretly buying ONE loaf of whole wheat bread and rationing it out over a two week time frame. I hated that I was spending money on bread when I had everything I needed to make my own. I hated that I knew the store stuff wasn’t as good for us. And I hated that I couldn’t seem to make the time to make bread.
Then Megan at SortaCrunchy did a review of a book called Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day. I was intrigued. I tried the recipe I found online. And then I dug in and did some real research and experimentation. And I am a believer.
The authors of the book devised recipes that don’t require kneading. You mix the flour, the water, the gluten, the yeast, and the salt in a big bucket with a lid. You let it rise, you throw it in the fridge. When you want to make bread, you pull out a handful of dough, shape it into a loaf, let it rise once more, bake it, and voila - BREAD. Head over here to watch videos and preview recipes.
Before I sounded off to all of you, though, I wanted to give the recipes a thorough test. I wanted to prove that this method really was more efficient and just as healthy. So I took my time working through the book. I had a friend (we shall call her The Bread Whisperer) test things with me.
Here’s what I love:
- We always have bread. I can get up in the morning, grab a hunk of dough, and set it out to rise. (Usually I take two pounds and stuff it in a loaf pan so I will end up with a traditional looking loaf. The book suggests artisan bread done on a baking stone. Which is pretty, but not really practical for my gang.) I throw it in to bake just before lunch and we can have hot bread and butter with honey every day of the week. I look like super mom and I spent a total of five minutes on it. Plus, the house smells fantastic.
- The dough will sit and wait for me. When we all got sick last week, nobody ate anything for days. When I came back to my dough, it had fermented a little, but that just meant we had sour dough bread for a week! I don’t even have to wash the bucket in between batches, I can just leave a bit of dough in there and I’ve basically made a starter for sour dough. (Obviously, if your dough sprouts something green or another groovy color of the rainbow, throw it out. But it should last for up to 15 days.)
- If I forget to set a loaf out to rise in the morning, I can have hot pitas out of the oven in half an hour. I kid you not. Today I started my pitas at 11:30 and by noon, my gang was making sandwiches with these puffy little beauties. It makes me happy.
- I’ve got instant gifts to take to neighbors in need. Make a pretty loaf and nobody minds that it’s actually good for them. Right?
Here’s what I learned:
- If you buy nothing else to start making your own bread, buy a good kitchen scale. Even if you’re going to use nothing but white flour, buy a kitchen scale. It will be the difference between dense blah loaves and happy perky loaves. It becomes even more important if you’re going to use even just some fresh ground flour. Fresh ground wheat flour measures completely different from white flour. Even the author of the book has noticed the difference and has suggested that scales be used when using fresh ground flour. The nice thing is, the book provides all the conversions, so you know how much your flour should weigh.
Now I have a system for weighing everything in one bucket without having to dirty multiple dishes. I dump it in the bucket on the scale, mix, and jam it in my fridge. The difference in rise, in texture, in everything, is obvious.
- The recipes all call for vital wheat gluten. It’s not that hard to find, people. Order some online if you need to. Don’t fight it. Just add it.
- The authors of the book originally wrote Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. They took those recipes, added some whole wheat flour, cut the fat, and called it “Healthy Bread.” Here’s my issue with that: I don’t think removing fat makes something healthy. I think it makes it bland. I’m one of those healthy eaters who likes my healthy fats. I think good quality eggs, good quality butter, and cold-pressed coconut oil make the world go round. So if you’re going to try the brioche or some of the other recipes that call for eggs or butter, grab a copy of “Artisan Bread” and convert that recipe to whole wheat. Do NOT bother with the brioche recipe in “Healthy Bread.” It may be healthy, but it’s not brioche. Add another stick of butter and you’ll come closer to having brioche. I kid you not, my chef friend took one sniff of my brioche dough and said, “Add another stick or two of butter. At least.”
I never argue with a chef. They have really sharp knives.
As the Bread Whisperer, my chef friend, and I perfect making these recipes wheaty yet tasty, I’ll share our modifications with you. For now, if you’ve ever thought about making your own bread or grinding your own flour, I suggest you start with the methods in this book. Buy a grinder. Buy some wheat. Then don’t sweat learning all about kneading and the “window pane test.” Get you a bucket and make some bread. The point is not whether you know how to knead, the point is that you always have healthy bread on hand.
I think at this juncture, a video of how to measure things out quickly would be appropriate. I’ll try and put something together for you in a day or two. In the meantime, my apologies for all the verbage. It’s like Pandora’s Bread Box in my head. You people should never have gotten me started…
3.8.2010
I am almost there. I’ll probably be a sell out by the April meet up. Baby steps. Ba-by steps. Thanks for this encouragement.
3.8.2010
Excellent! Because I, too, am a guilty bread-buyer on those occasions when I cannot find the time to bake. So I will definitely be trying this out. I’m an open book. Be my bread sensei!
3.8.2010
PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! thank you so much for sharing this! Ihave all the stuff and have used our fresh ground flour for all kinds of recipes, except bread!LOL Just haven’t been able to carve out what i know will be a day long event and i am already behind in every other way except in number of people in my family. on that one i am often ahead! LOL i cannot wait to try this! looking forward to the video! what kind of scale do you use and what size bucket? oh wait i need to go back read all the links! you are an angel an absolute angel!!! ((hugs))jen in al
3.8.2010
is this the same kind of gluten? http://www.breadbeckers.com/store/pc/Gluten-1-lb-Bag-38p2380.htm
thanks jen in al
3.8.2010
I’ve heard so much about this book but haven’t picked it up yet. Looks like I will now! Thanks for answering on the wheat. I do have it in a bucket so I’m hoping it’s good. I say hoping because I haven’t actually opened the bucket to check yet. Blame it on the mastitis that invaded me this weekend.
What type of wheat do you use most?
3.8.2010
No stinking way! I’m all over that method. Just this afternoon I was telling my husband that in order to keep up with our bread needs, I would need to become “one of those homemakers” who gets up at 5AM to start the bread.
And while I love the idea of being one of homemakers, and am actively working toward it; the plain truth of the matter is I’m just NOT that early of a riser.
7 AM -no problem
6 AM -doable
5 AM -for the love of all that is holy…WHY??
3.8.2010
WOO HOOOOOO! Loving that you have been enjoying the no-knead goodness. It’s so easy, it’s ridiculous. And now I need to get the original Artisan book so I can be happy with adding sticks of (yummy) butter back in. Adding another WOO HOOOOOOO for good measure!
3.8.2010
I had a question - When you say whole wheat flour that you make…is it whole wheat or is it whole grain? And how do I know the difference or make whole grain vs whole wheat? Sorry to throw more questions at you, I’m learning so much!
3.9.2010
you read my post about my friend who grinds her own wheat didn’t you?? i asked about linking to you
(I just wanted to check before doing it :)) you know i want to grind my own wheat! this five minute bread sounds awesome. i love making our own whole wheat bread but have gotten a little slack, and i feel guilty for buying bread too, ha! although i also admit i don’t have all of the extra wheaty “granola-y” ingredients. i need to catch up on all you posts and make my list (I’ve been quite behind :)).
3.9.2010
yeah! So glad you fleshed it out a bit more…and perhaps I should have weighed my dough b/c it was soooo dense. I might try it again now. I was a bit discourage at first.
3.9.2010
My usual recipe makes four loaves, which is the absolute maximum that my poor kitchen aid can groaningly deal with. This lasts my husband and I, and toddler, two weeks or so. After which we endure a week and a half of no bread (or, *gasp!* french bread from the grocery store with white flour) while I summon up my energy and patience and plot when I’ll be able to carve out undisturbed time to think hard enough to comprehend measuring cups and other complicated things.
I was sorely tempted when Megan talked about it, but the word “artisan” sounded a bit too much like something that required brain power in the kitchen. I think you have me convinced, though… putting it on my wishlist now.
3.9.2010
anything specific? LOL…yes, how a mother of 5 homeschools without losing her mind.
a lot of kidding, but a little serious. it’s probably my biggest {selfish} worry right now that i’m taking to Him. i want to be refreshed enough to still be a happy, fun, intentional mom.
3.9.2010
Fabulous! I’ve been wanting a no knead sourdough recipe to try. This will satisfy, beautiful loaf! ;o) It’s brilliant. And to think I was proud of myself…managing to work my bread making process into a doable task, timewise, by measuring mulitple batches of ingredients ahead and soaking/mixing night b/f.
3.9.2010
Cheryl - I’m not entirely sure what you’re asking, but I’ll try to make something up: Whole Wheat is the wheat I buy in buckets. I grind it with a grain mill and turn it into whole wheat flour. If something is labeled “whole grain” it just means that the makers are claiming they started with whole grains (usually of wheat) when they made the product. If you buy wheat berries in a bucket, you are buying the whole grain. Does that help?
3.9.2010
Sweet! My poor grinder and wheat are sitting in my pantry and we are going through almost an entire loaf a day!
I’m going to have to try this. How big is the bucket you are using? I don’t know what will fit in my fridge.
3.9.2010
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3.19.2010
Oh, my word! Thank you so much for this post!!
I have a mill and use fresh-milled wheat for everything… except “regular bread” because I didn’t have time to make it!
THANK YOU, thank you!
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